murphaph

I get the impression a lot of sellers don't like it either. A lot of items are only offered with UK shipping these days and I think the GSP is largely responsible. It isn't too bad to Germany but I think some buyers are still amenable to simply posting items using Royal Mail if you cover the postage, but you have to ask. I use parcelwizard so I can safely bid on "UK only" items then ask the seller will they ship to Germany (believe it or not it's cheaper to post to Germany from the UK than to the Republic). If they refuse I give them my parcelwizard address in NI and it goes to the mother in Dublin for later collection. Of course you can always ask the seller in advance if they will post internationally with Royal Mail. Some will, even if they have indicated no international shipping or GSP only. In reality there is not much extra effort required for them and no extra cost.

A model shop in Newry suddenly makes a lot of sense lol. The super low duty and vat thresholds on postal delivery don't apply to stuff personally imported. Customers could cross the border and bring up to €430 per traveling adult and bring it over duty and tax free back home duty and tax free. If you go as a family each child has a €215 allowance. https://www.revenue.ie/en/importing-vehicles-duty-free-allowances/customs-information-for-travelling-and-duty-free-allowances/travelling-from-outside-the-eu/duty-free-allowances.aspx

Surely most model kits are made and consumed in the UK? The hobby is comparatively tiny in Ireland (unfortunately). I would expect little interruption for the modeller in the UK. Outside the UK it's another matter though. Brexit is really throwing a spanner in the works here. I met a chap in Potsdam on the weekend and he is a UK/Ireland outline layout builder and exhibitor (Ontrax quality). He's been stocking up on smaller bits and pieces as he expects the shutters to effectively come crashing down in January. It just won't be worth the hassle for many smaller UK based sellers. As well as that it has kind of flown under the radar but the €22 threshold on VAT/duty is to be abolished EU wide from June next year. That means every single item no matter how cheap will go through customs and will have a handling fee slapped on it by your local postal service. The idea is to prevent the fraud which is certainly widespread (who hasn't received a $5 "gift" from China that really cost more like 50?) by simply making online purchases from outside the EU too much hassle/too expensive so EU traders can get the business instead. Unfortunately in our hobby there is little interest outside the UK so we will not see an EU dealer of Shawplan Lazerglaze or whatever niche kit maker's products you can think of.

Post seems slow everywhere. An post report delays in parcel deliveries in Ireland and DHL reports the same here in Germany. I guess Covid 19 restrictions in the sorting offices are causing them.

I quite like the silver cab livery but it's a bit late for my chosen era so I don't have any of them. I would point out that whilst it may be "straightforward" (for someone with Noel's skills) to go grey, it would be much more difficult to revert the loco to the silver and black livery to the same standard as the factory finish. I'd weather it. Looks pretty cool weathered in those pics.

Tom is out of stock with no immediate plans to rerun the rebuilt Dutch EGV but maybe once Covid etc. has passed he might consider it. I suppose the more expressions of interest he receives the more inclined he might be to do it

....hooray!

Any updates on the current whereabouts of the IR ones from our man in the know, @WRENNEIRE? Still stuck with the Chinese elves or in the hands of the Irish elves yet? Judging by the backlog of freight in China and the container shortage, there are going to be a lot of disappointed kids this xmas and I'm not talking about us big kids! I'd recommend buying whatever your kids are getting now rather than later.

Thanks Ernie. I've sent Tommy a mail. Noel's van collection is certainly something to aspire to!

Hi Noel do you have the source for this kit? I believe it's IFM but how does one contact them? I intend respraying a number of mk2a's and mk2b's so these rebuilt EGVs will be essential in time.

Does anyone know the model of the mitsubishi truck? I wonder does a model exist, even not in 1/76.

According to the 567 wiki the R means "rebalanced". Quote: EMD Pointers publication, October 17, 1956, "NEW MODEL 8-567CR ENGINE" "Due to expanding usage in a wide variety of applications, the 8 cylinder 567C engine is now being manufactured with certain design changes to provide a better total balance. This "rebalanced" engine has the model designation 8-567CR and supersedes the previous standard 8-567C in all applications. The major change is in firing order which requires a new design crankshaft #8235623 for the 8-567CR engine. This crankshaft has 2 relocated crankpin throws as well as larger counterweights." Maybe it meant something else inside CIE though?

ESU has some appropriate sound files for the larger EMD 567 engines with 645 power assemblies. It was a common upgrade it seems. ESU says this combination resulted in a unique sound, neither 567 nor 645, but I'm guessing closer to a 567 as Vlak says. Unfortunately so far they have no 8 cylinder files but maybe some day.

In a very good position

Those 150 quid mk2as will sit there like the 275 quid 201s. Asking prices aren't selling prices. Last ones I got on eBay were for 60 and that was like a month ago. Still expensive for one coach but not completely mad.

I never noticed that but once you see it you can't unsee it lol.

How many editions were there of the Doyle & Hirsch rolling stock book? I count three, up to Irish Rail in 1987. Was there a fourth covering IE?

I wonder how strict customs will be on the 1st of January. I can imagine they might show some degree of leniency and wave through parcels postmarked December and only start stopping stuff actually posted from the first. It's important because the postal system will choke up straight away due to the amount of UK->IRL parcels that currently go through virtually no customs processing. Parcels posted second class before the end of the year could easily get stuck behind parcels posted later.

Ah ok I forgot about the handling fee as it's only like a fiver here in Germany with DHL and as I use the Hattons trunk service I don't get hit with multiple parcels. I put anything I want into the trunk and pull the trigger on shipping it all when I think it's worth it. I can see how given your constellation things look decidedly different. I am more concerned about the really small bits and bobs I pick up on eBay. Many or even most UK sellers I buy from seem to only ship to UK addresses. That's ok as at present I use parcel wizard to forward on to Dublin for eventual collection when I'm visiting but I have a nasty feeling that parcelwizard and parcel motel etc. will not be able to forward anything anymore as they would be responsible for the customs stuff and as they have no idea what's in the parcels they can't do that.

Ah yes of course, delays can be expected I'm sure. At best a FTA will be agreed but the UK will almost certainly leave the customs union and EU vat area from the 1st unfortunately Will IRM continue to ship from the UK to EU customers, at least initially?

There's no duty on model railway items so in theory a pre-order with a UK retailer might face delays but the goods should be delivered with no increase in cost, vat rate difference aside.

Looks a bit like Donald Trump in a straitjacket.

Is PM a (amazing) one man band? Is there anybody else involved in the business who can carry it on when the great man does decide it's time to retire?

Just by chance I discovered I have one of these lying around. I had a look at the inside and yeah it would be a nightmare to respray. The whole side panel of the coach is the glazing plastic just painted where the steel if the coach should be. I was hoping to use this as a practice coach but I won't bother. I have cheap Lima mk2s on the way for my first forays into respraying.

From when were these Dana ones seen on the network?